My unvarnished story about adopting a boy who turned out to have autism.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Finally, an Old McDonald's visit that doesn't depress me

Quinn loves visiting the playland at "Old McDonald's," as he calls it. For me, each visit is a new level of sadness. There was the baby Quinn suddenly and without warning knocked down, causing everyone who saw it to gasp in unison. The time I heard screaming from inside the play structure - not Quinn's, but I instinctively knew who was causing it -- and high-tailed it up the slide to find out I was right. The grandfather who glared at us for a good 20 minutes, even as he was leaving, because he mistakenly thought Quinn had bumped his beloved angel while he was spinning. The place seems to exacerbate Quinn's sensory-seeking nature in ways that looks a lot like serious disciplinary problems.

And that's not the worst of it. Each time we visit we watch kids make friends and play together. Other than when things go south, Quinn generally doesn't even acknowledge any other children. Finally, it's cute to watch kids make it to the top of the play structure and then holler or wave down at their parents. Quinn gets up there and does his own thing, in his own world, until we tell him it's time to go or the food has arrived.

It reached the point where we stopped going about six months ago. And then this morning, with my husband out of town and me looking to run down Quinn's battery before his final assembly and performance at Chinese School, he asked if we could go to Old McDonald's.

So we did.

And what a difference.

First, he scampered to the top and yelled down to me. Then he stuck his face against the inside of a bubble-shaped window and hollered at me, "Are you inside the bubble?" After a bit a little girl and her grandma came in to eat breakfast, but Grandma wanted to leave before the girl got to play. Quinn watched her the whole time and then asked, "Is the little girl not going to play?" Later on he asked, "Is a kid going to come play?" He actually noticed kids, and he wanted to play with them!

To another parent, this was hardly anything. To me, it was everything.

8 comments:

I came by your blog by "next blogging" and have been fascinated by the growth Quinn has had through your love, dedication, and effort. With all the discouraging things in the world, it has been great reading about Quinn's progress.

Hi Robin, I really appreciate your comment. My intent is to share our experience honestly, and I'm glad you find it uplifting. I am certainly encouraged by Quinn's progress, but I know some people are really intimidated by the amount of work all Quinn's therapy can take. Thank you for reading!!

First I laughed, because Aidan always called it "Hol MacDonalds" before he realized that it wasn't the same name as the song. Then I was sad because of the sensory issues preventing Quinn and you from enjoying what should be a carefree experience. Then I was smiling because you finally got to have that happy and carefree experience.Ruby

Thanks for stopping by my special-needs adoption blog!

This is my attempt to tell the true story of my adoption of Quinn, who spent the first 16 months of his life in an orphanage in Beijing. This is the kind of information I was searching for while I waited to adopt from China, so it's the kind I want to share - the joys as well as the challenges.